You’ll love this recipe for Scottish lobster

Head chef David Butters has revealed exciting plans for Aberdeenshire’s only three-rosette restaurant.

Douneside House, which was refurbished in 2016, has big plans for the future.

David said: ‘We have a table d’ hôte menu which we serve seven days a week and a six-course tasting menu which is served Thursday to Saturday evenings.

‘Our tasting menu changes seasonally, and our table d’hôte menu changes daily. By changing the menu daily, we can use the freshest local ingredients.

‘This year our gardens are providing over 80 varieties of organically grown fruit and veg, some of which would be impossible for me to source elsewhere so it allows me to include rarely found ingredients on my menus.’

David is finding influence in dishes from further north than the tip of Scotland.

‘I’m really drawn to the Nordic style at the moment – the style tends to be light dishes full of flavour and not overly fussy, I think we’ll start to see more of this style of cooking here.’

Looking to the future, he adds: ‘We have plans to launch a chef trainee programme to allow young chefs to launch their career in a three-rosette restaurant and access excellent training on the job and at college. I’m looking forward to encouraging young people to join this industry.’